8 Career Lessons Learned From “The Happiest Woman In America”

This is the happiest woman in America. She’s 50 years old, works full time (sometimes from home), and has a son in high school and a husband. Ok, it’s hard to say there’s precisely ONE happiest person in a country of 300 million, but Mary Claire Orenic has a good claim to the title. She was discovered by a company that works with Gallup pollsters to measure American attitudes and behaviors. They looked at their data to find the characteristics of well-being for the largest demographic in the country: women age 45 to 55. They came up with Orenic. Gail Sheehy at USA Today is in the midst of a fascinating series looking at all facets of Orenic’s life, including her career. What can we learn from her?